Ladbrokes owner Entain has been fined £17m by the Gambling Commission for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures
LC International Limited runs 13 websites including ladbrokes.com, and the company will pay £14m and also £3m as Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming Limited operation that runs around 2,746 gambling premises across Britain failed to maintain social responsibility and AML standards. The charges will be directed towards socially responsible purposes as part of a regulatory settlement.
According to the Gambling Commission Chief executive Andrew Rhodes, “Our investigation revealed serious failures that have resulted in the largest enforcement outcome to date. There were completely unacceptable anti-money laundering and safer gambling failures. Operators are reminded they must never place commercial considerations over compliance.
“This is the second time this operator has fallen foul of rules in place to make gambling safer and crime-free.”
“They should be aware that we will be monitoring them very carefully and further serious breaches will make the removal of their licence to operate a very real possibility. We expect better and consumers deserve better.”
Entain said that it had joined a regulatory settlement with the GC to bring the matter to completion and prevent any further costly and proacted legal proceedings. The owner of Ladbrokes accepts that certain legacy systems and processes supporting the operations of its British business during 2019 and 202 were not in accordance with the evolving regulatory expectations of the Commission with respect to the aspects of social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) safeguards.
However, the group also notes the Commission’s statement that “it found no evidence whatsoever of criminal spend within Entain’s operations.”
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